The Mystery at Lilac Inn

Welcome to another Nancy Drew Challenge, which has pretty much become my favorite blog post every week because I am still having the bestest time with Nancy and her shenanigans.  This week, we're taking a look at The Mystery at Lilac Inn!

Case file:  Nancy and Helen canoe down the river (as you do) to Lilac Inn, which their friend Emily Willoughby and her fiance are renovating and plan to open soon after their wedding, but strange doings are afoot so she asks Nancy to investigate.  At the same time, Nancy discovers she has a doppelganger who has stolen her charge plate (credit card) for a River Heights department store.  Emily has a bunch of diamonds she plans to sell to finance the restoration of the inn but they get stolen, then replaced with fakes; a mysterious glowing girl is seen flitting about the inn's grounds at night and finally a bomb goes off and destroys the cottage Nancy and Helen were staying in.  Nancy investigates mostly with the help of John, an Army guy who's besties with Emily's fiance, and they take several trips to go skin diving (snorkeling) in the river because Nancy and Helen hit something when they canoed down the river at the start of the book.  More snooping ensues and eventually Nancy is captured by the bad guys, including her doppelganger who is also a waitress at the inn; the doppelganger is a former actress who likes to steal things and is affiliated with several men who steal Army gadgets and move about with the help of a tiny submarine in the river (no, it doesn't really make much sense).  The submarine and the bad guys' boat both sink conveniently; Nancy is rescued by river patrol and then has to convince her dad that she's the real Nancy Drew (come on, Dad).  After the baddies are arrested, she goes diving again with John and they recover Emily's stolen diamonds hidden in a tube of the doppelganger's lipstick just in time for the wedding, and Emily gives Nancy a pin made from some of the diamonds in the shape of a spray of lilac.

Notes:  This one is like The Hidden Staircase in that it's a big old building with a secret room and lots of Nancy skulking about the extensive grounds looking for clues, and that's all fun times yes please I love that.  She dresses up as the "ghost" with little flashlights in her sleeves at one point and that's the scene depicted on the cover of the book (Nancy is actually the one with dark hair as she was wearing a wig at the time).  Nancy is so good at skin diving that she has her picture in the paper, which seems a bit silly to me (must have been a slow news day), but she uses her heretofore unmentioned diving skills to investigate the mini sub at several points in the mystery, and since she helped John figure out who was stealing Army tech, she gets a commendation from the Army.  Several other elements of the mystery are outlandish, like the actress being so good at makeup that even Mr. Drew is fooled for an instant, or even worse the fact that a bomb goes off in Nancy's cottage but everyone is cool with her continuing to investigate.  But I put on my Suspenders of Disbelief and had fun with the whole thing anyway.  Also for once this mystery has a red herring where the social director of the inn is super unpleasant to Nancy, but it turns out she's not a bad guy (mostly just cranky), so that was a nice misdirection.  Four stars.

Here's my card for The Mystery at Lilac Inn:

I knew immediately what stamp set I wanted to use for this one, this is a real oldie called Blossoms Abound and it's been ages since I used it (I actually made this card before I made the pink lilacs one).  At first I put some pearls on the card but quickly realized they needed to be rhinestones to go with the diamonds featured in the mystery.

I took the colors Pretty Peacock, Highland Heather, and Gorgeous Grape from the cover; the Pretty Peacock background is from the Lily Impressions DSP that went with some Sale-a-bration stuff a few years ago, and I used a scrap from Perennial Lavender for the purple pattern.  And check out the old skool dies I used!  Been a minute since Apothecary Accents came out to play, but the largest shape worked perfectly for my lilac spray.

If you'd like to join in the fun, drop me a comment and I'd love to see what you make (or even if you just like Nancy Drew books too!).  Next up:  The Secret of Shadow Ranch, and a bonus!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Blossoms Abound
Ink:  Highland Heather, Gorgeous Grape, Garden Green, Pretty Peacock
Paper:  Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Thick Basic White, Lily Impressions & Perennial Lavender DSP
Accessories:  Apothecary Accents dies, rhinestones, Dimensionals

Pretty Pink Trixie

Mornin' y'all!  How's your Friday going?  I am looking forward to some serious crafting time today : )

So how about a card I made yesterday?  Wait, I think I made it the day before yesterday.  Anyway, here it is:

Trixie the Triceratops has gone pink for today!  I used this week's sketch from CASE-ing Tuesday Sketches:

The measurements on the sketch are for a notecard rather than an A2 card, but I made mine the standard A2 so it just comes off as more CAS.  Always need more dino cards for my friend Krissy...you know, I have two or three dino stamp sets that I haven't inked up yet, I should do that!

I also used the latest challenge from Color Hues:

I'm not sure Petunia Pop counts as plummy, but it's the closest I could get in current colors (I needed one with Stampin' Blends).  I used Pretty in Pink for my pink color.

That's it for me, y'all.  The weather is nicer today than yesterday (no mist) so I'll be taking the Daphinator out for her tour of the neighborhood here shortly.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Darling Dinos
Ink:  Secret Sea, Stampin' Blends in Pretty ink Pink & Petunia Pop
Paper:  Pretty in Pink, Thick Basic White, Petunia Pop DSP
Accessories:  Darling Dinos dies, Dimensionals

New Car

Not for me, I love my car, I've had it for over 10 years now and I hope to have it forever : )  My dad, on the other hand, trades out cars pretty frequently, and he got a new-to-him car earlier this week (he doesn't buy brand new cars because that would make this hobby ridiculously expensive).  Can't fault him for this one though; he bought it because my mom had problems getting in his old car (a giant SUV).  So he got this one to make it easier on her to get in and out of because ain't no one going road trippin' in Ma's VW Bug.  So anyway, I made them a card.

I left the car white because the actual car is dark blue and that didn't match the Classic Garage DSP.  Dad keeps track of all the cars he's owned (and my mom's too) in a spreadsheet.  Umm, I'm on my fifth car and the only reason it's that many is because of us going overseas to Japan and the UK back to back so that accounts for 40% of my cars.  Anyway, Tanya reminded me that I should make a car celebration card, so thanks Tanya!

I also worked in a couple of challenges, starting with Festive Friday:

I used masculine colors, cars, geometric design, and a masculine sentiment (that counts as a masculine sentiment, right?).  I actually started the whole card with the scrap of (geometric) road signs on the left, it dictated the size of my DSP panels and I went from there.  I also used this week's sketch from Atlantic Hearts:

Funny how Atlantic Hearts and the Paper Players both posted triptych sketches this week.

Anyway, Daph-Daph is running around like a crazy dog even though I did take her for a walk this morning even though it was misting.  She's pretty funny to watch though and I am still soooooooo ridiculously happy to have her here.  I missed having a dog for over 4 years and it was way too long.  So I'm going to go play with Daphne : )  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Geared Up Garage
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Tranquil Tide
Paper:  Tranquil Tide, Thick Basic White, Classic Garage DSP Stack
Accessories:  Garage Gears dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Textured Notes dies, Dimensionals

Otter Love

Mornin' y'all!  It's a rainy morning here so I don't know if Daph will get to go for her usual tour of the neighborhood.  We'll see what it looks like a little bit later this morning.

For now, I have an otter card!

The Otterly Amazing bundle is on the last chance list, but oddly enough, the Otterly Adorable DSP is not.  I wasn't sure when I sat down at my craft table yesterday what I wanted to make, but I looked through all my DSPs for the Paper Players sketch and the otter won.

I almost did a floral card with the pretty yellows in the beautiful Floral Delight DSP but I couldn't resist a cute otter for today.  Speaking of otters, Ryan and I saw Lilo & Stitch on Monday and there was a preview for a Zootopia 2.  Yay!  I really liked the first one.

That's all for now.  I'm going to go pet the Daph.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Otterly Amazing
Ink:  Early Espresso, Stampin' Blends in Pecan Pie & Ivory
Paper:  Pretty Peacock, Calypso Coral, Thick Basic White, Otterly Adorable DSP
Accessories:  Otterly Amazing dies, Dimensionals, Antique Pearls

Celebration Shake

Mornin' y'all!  Ryan woke up angry this morning and I'm a bit under the weather so we're off to a good start here.  So let's have a happy card, shall we?  Nothing says happy like a giant strawberry milkshake.

My friend Krissy has been fostering a dog and he's just the CUTEST thing ever and he's going to be a foster fail and live with Krissy forever.  I had to make a celebration card as soon as I heard.  Krissy has had a hard time since her heart dog Buddy crossed the Rainbow Bridge, so I hope that Winslow helps her heal a bit.

So, this is a four-challenge card, starting with As You See It:

I went with spots! There are spots on the ice cream, and a polka dot blue layer, and the pink layer has dots all over it too.

Next up is the Inspired By... Challenge:

I was looking at the two glasses on the right specifically.  Also I wish I could reach into my computer screen and grab one of those : )

Next up is Inkspirational:

Yup, we're celebrating!  And last is the sketch from Sunday Stamps:

Love this one.  That's it for me today, peeps.  Have a great day and I'm going to get this card out in the mail PDQ.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Share a Milkshake
Ink:  Balmy Blue, Secret Sea, Pretty in Pink, Strawberry Slush
Paper:  Balmy Blue, Thick Basic White, Floral Impressions DSP, Balmy Blue DSP
Accessories:  Share a Milkshake dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals, In Color Flat Pearls

A Joyful Sketch with SUO Challenges

 Mornin' y'all and it's time for a new challenge from SUO Challenges!

And this time we bring you...a sketch!

So here's what I made:

I knew as soon as I saw the sketch that I wanted the rectangular panel in the corner to have the greeting on it, but when I chose the Sweet Blooms dies that rectangle had to get a little bigger : ) The only stamping on this is the "let joy" part of the greeting, the "bloom" is die cut and the flowers were fussy-cut from some Florals In Bloom DSP.  I am loving that DSP : )

We hope that you'll have fun with this sketch too and upload your card at the SUO Challenges blog.  Don't forget to keep it SU Only!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Sweet Blooms
Ink:  Secret Sea
Paper:  Bubble Bath, Petunia Pop, Secret Sea, Florals In Bloom DSP
Accessories:  Sweet Blooms dies, In Color Flat Pearls

Munich

Scrappy Monday, y'all!  We're all moving kinda slow this morning but hey, hubs and I worked hard for the past couple of days painting again.  We painted the closet under the stairs and the ceiling in the hallway, loft, and laundry room upstairs.  The closet ceiling slopes downward as it goes under the stairs so of course I banged my head on the newly-painted ceiling and ended up with a patch of white hair.

Anyway, I've got two scrapbook layouts to share today:

For Memorial Day weekend 2021, we took the train from where we lived in Katzweiler to Munich and spent a couple of days there.

Most of the pictures are from a giant park that we spent a lot of time in (Ryan demands lots of playground time when we travel).

Today's color palette:  Night of Navy, Mint Macaron, Boho Blue, Primrose Petals, and white.  I love the watercolor look to the patterned paper : )

That's it for me today.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Lovely Letters Alphabet
Ink:  Night of Navy, Mint Macaron
Paper:  Night of Navy, Mint Macaron, Boho Blue, Primrose Petals, Thick Basic White, Rings of Love DSP
Accessories:  1" and 1 1/4" circle punches

To the Moon & Back

Mornin' y'all!  We had a thunderstorm move through last night and I wonder if Daphne is scared of the thunder...I'll keep an eye on her next time we get severe weather.  I'm happy to snuggle her if she does get scared.

Anyway, it's Ryan's turn to choose Sunday breakfast so naturally it's pumpkin cake; that's in the oven now and I have a card to share.

I don't make too many baby cards since I don't have much call for them right now, but Moon Baby popped in my head immediately when I saw this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

Another idea just popped in my head so we'll see if I have time to make it.  For this card, I used some of the colors from the current Retro Rubber Challenge:

I used the top color and the bottom two, which I interpreted as Pale Papaya, Soft Sea Foam, and Lost Lagoon.  Think I should have gone with Pear Pizzazz for the green but too late now.  Also I'm a wee bit obsessed with the Textured Notes dies--I didn't get the coordinating stamp set but these dies are GREAT on their own.  I like the different designs on the edges.  And Claire reminded me to say that Moon Baby is the same age as my human baby—eight : )

Think we're doing more painting today...we painted the Harry Potter closet under the stairs yesterday.  Wish I could wiggle my nose Samantha-style and have all the painting done.  At least I get to eat pumpkin cake before we commence painting.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Moon Baby
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Lost Lagoon, Stampin' Blends in Pale Papaya, Soft Sea Foam, Lost Lagoon, Cinnamon Cider, Petal Pink
Paper:  Lost Lagoon, Thick Basic White
Accessories:  Textured Notes dies, Wink of Stella, In Color Gems

The Bungalow Mystery

Welcome back to another Nancy Drew challenge!  Other than making cards, my personal Nancy Drew challenge has been to track down alternate covers of the later paperback books and thanks to some impulse spending I'm close to having a complete set.  And then I just had to buy two hardcover books with different covers than what I've always had and guess what?!  They're both the original text versions!  One was published in the '50s and the other in 1971, so when I get to those books in the card challenge I'm going to read both versions.  And now I really want to see if I can track down a set of the first 35 books with the original texts...*rubs hands together gleefully*  Yeah, I'm definitely obsessed!

Okay, without any further ado, here is The Bungalow Mystery:

Case file:  Nancy and Helen are tooling around Twin Lakes on a motorboat when a wicked storm blows up and their boat sinks; they get rescued by a girl named Laura Pendleton, and the trio immediately break into a ramshackle bungalow to take shelter until the storm passes.  Laura becomes insta-buddies with Nancy and Helen, and she confides that her mother recently died and she's supposed to meet her new guardians the next day at a hotel. (Who is letting this 16-year-old orphan hang out on her own until she meets up with her guardians?  That seems irresponsible!)  The three girls hang out together until the guardians arrive, and Nancy thinks they're sus so she keeps in contact with Laura, who soon runs away from her guardians to Nancy's house.  Nancy snoops and discovers that Laura's guardians are fakes and the real guardian is being kept prisoner because the fakes want to steal Laura's inheritance which includes a lot of fine jewels (it's the Drew-niverse, everyone has scads of jewels); they're using the titular bungalow as a hideout while they run the con on Laura, who took her stash of jewels with her to Nancy's house when she ran away because she's a smartie.  Nancy gets caught snooping but manages to get out of her restraints because she's Nancy Drew and that means she can do anything, and then she chases after the naughty people who drive off a cliff but they're not too seriously injured and they deserve it for being naughty anyway.  Nancy introduces Laura to her real guardians and Laura gives Nancy an aquamarine ring as a token of friendship.

Notes:  Helen is really only around for the beginning of the book and then she disappears while Nancy investigates solo and Nancy should know better than to snoop without backup (also, Helen will soon mostly disappear for the series).  In between snooping on Laura's guardians, Nancy also helps her dad with an embezzlement case (see what I mean about Carson doing all kinds of law things?) which of course is connected to Nancy's case.  Also, gotta love a kids' book that teaches the definition of embezzlement.  Nancy shows Laura her mementos from her two previous cases and one of them is a silver urn, I wonder if that was mentioned in the original version of The Hidden Staircase and edited out in the newer version?  Because it's not mentioned in the book I have.  Over the course of this book Nancy engages in a bit of B&E at three different locations...her attorney dad must be so proud.  Nancy and her dad both get knocked out by blows to the head, so they probably have matching traumatic brain injuries now, which might explain why Carson lets his teenage daughter go haring off into all these dangerous situations with just a mild "be careful, dear".  This book didn't really stick with me from childhood as well as the first two did (or even on this most recent reread) but I still think it's fun enough.  Four stars because it still keeps fading in my memory and I haven't even been knocked on the head...at least, not that I can remember.

So here is my Bungalow Mystery card:

I had to ponder this one for a while.  The only stamp set I have with a building that looks kinda like the bungalow on the cover is currently in the possibly to sell bunch on top of a tall shelf and I was too lazy to get it out, so I went with the lovely oak tree from Rooted in Nature.  The "Be Strong, Be Happy, Be You" is all one stamp but I cut apart the three phrases for my card.  I think that greeting is quite appropriate for our girl Detective Drew.  I chose the background paper because the Peach Pie bits remind me of Nancy's hair; the Garden Green and Cajun Craze patterns echo colors on the book's cover.

I quite like Nancy's green dress, she wears green on three of the first five book covers and it's a good color with her hair. 

If you'd like to join in the challenge, drop a comment on this post and I would be delighted to see what you make.  Up next week:  The Mystery at Lilac Inn!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Rooted in Nature
Ink:  Garden Green, Cajun Craze
Paper:  Garden Green, Thick Basic White, Meandering Meadows DSP, Everyday Skies DSP
Accessories:  Nature's Roots dies, Dimensionals, Faux Glass Dots

The Mountains Are Calling

Mornin' y'all!  Here we are at the last day of school and Ryan still argues about getting ready on time.  Today is an early release day so I'm taking him out to lunch afterwards...to Taco Bell (his choice, not mine).  Summer camps start the first week of June : )

I got out some new goodies to play with for today's card, take a look:

The Scenic Adventure bundle is one of the newer Online Exclusives and I bought it primarily for the awesome greeting stamps, but the rest of the bundle is pretty cool too.  I mostly played with the dies on this card, though I did use the tree stamps in the set to add a bit of inky texture to my die-cut trees.  This week's CASE-ing Tuesday sketch seemed like the perfect time to break it out:

I was a bit looser with my interpretation of the sketch this week, but you can still see where I got the inspiration.  I'm also entering at Cupcake Inspirations:

That was what cinched my decision to use Scenic Adventure.

That's it for now, peeps.  I only have three hours before it's time to go pick Ryan up so I'd better get on with my day.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Scenic Adventure
Ink:  Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon, Misty Moonlight
Paper:  Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon, Basic White, Timeless Plaid DSP Stack
Accessories:  Scenic Adventure dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Tinsel Gems

Magical Duo

Mornin' y'all!  It's the next to last day of school here so I'd better make good use of my time, right?  So why am I scrolling eBay looking for more Nancy Drew books??  Daphne says she wants to go for a walk, but I told her I needed to write this blog post first.  And today I have a pair of cards to share.

I used the colors in the Color Dare Challenge:

I used Lemon Lime Twist, Flirty Flamingo, and Peach Pie for the colors.  I like the sponged background layer but I'm less pleased with how the coloring turned out on my pegasus--I tried watercolor pencils and the Memento ink kinda muddied the colors a bit, so I added some ink on top and I'm just not sure about it.  Anyway, this is yet another try at the Paper Players challenge:

For some reason I've had trouble keeping my cards more CAS this time around.  I did make another flying card and here it is:

I used another Color Dare challenge for this one:

But I'm not sure it counts since I used two different oranges for my dragon.  The colors I used are Summer Splash, Timid Tiger, and Peach Pie.

Okay, I'm off to take Daphne for her walk, and then I want to get some things done in my craft room.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, pegasus card:
Stamps:  Pure Magic
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Lemon Lime Twist, Flirty Flamingo, Peach Pie
Paper:  Thick Basic White
Accessories:  Textured Notes dies, watercolor pencils, clear gems

Supplies, dragon card:
Stamps:  Pure Magic
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Summer Splash, Blends in Timid Tiger, Peach Pie, Summer Splash
Paper:  Summer Splash, Thick Basic White, Timid Tiger DSP
Accessories:  Textured Notes dies, Dimensionals

Thinking of Butterflies

Mornin' y'all!  I actually meant to post this card yesterday afternoon/evening, but I got distracted because we went to Ryan's swim lesson and then I made dinner for Taco Tuesday and then I worked on my current stitching project and I just forgot.  So here it is now:

I made this for the Paper Players' CAS challenge of things that fly, but I think I ran past CAS on this one considering there are four layers and quite a bit of pattern.  But I did hit a couple of other challenges, starting with the Creative Colour Challenge:

I stamped the butterfly with Versamark + Night of Navy, then embossed with clear embossing powder so I could use Pumpkin Pie and Poppy Parade to watercolor the butterfly; I thought if I used Blends that it would be too overpowering for the card.  I paired that with the Atlantic Hearts sketch for this week:

I really like this one.  It gave me an excuse to use my new favorite Textured Notes dies : )

Time to get Ryan off to school and today he has his extracurricular class after so I get extra crafty (and laundry) time.  And I'm making a dessert for a function at the hubs' work tomorrow.  Have a great day, peeps.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Sketched Butterflies
Ink:  Versamark, Night of Navy, Pumpkin Pie, Poppy Parade
Paper:  Thick Basic White, Countryside Inn DSP
Accessories:  Sketched Butterflies dies, Textured Notes dies, Dimensionals, Clear EP

Slime!

You know, sometimes my creative process kinda takes a left turn.  I was thinking about the Paper Players challenge yesterday:

And yeah, birds and butterflies and bees are all very well, but what ELSE do I have in my stamp collection that flies?  So I took a look through my stamp hoard and...

Well...

He does fly.  Sometimes through walls, even.

This is Slimer from the Ghostbusters movies, if you didn't recognize him because you're not a superfan of those movies the way that I am, and once I found him I couldn't NOT make a Slimer card for this challenge.  Plus I got to break out my Ghoulish Grunge stamp set for the slime and that's super fun : )  Dan Aykroyd takes credit for turning the word "slime" into a verb in the original Ghostbusters script because prior to that movie slime was just a noun.  It makes a very good verb though especially if you have small children or doggos, who are both very slimy.

So yeah, I cackled gleefully while I made my Slimer card, but I did make a more "normal" card too which I'll share later.  For now I want to appreciate those slime trails.  I hope this is CAS enough to count for the Paper Players challenge, but even if it isn't, I got a good laugh out of it.  Now I just need to figure out who to send him to...

Cheers!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Ghoulish Grunge, Slime & Slime Icons from The Ink Road
Ink:  Granny Apple Green, Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Real Red & Granny Apple Green
Paper:  Granny Apple Green, Lemon Lime Twist, Thick Basic White
Accessories:  Textured Notes dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals

Schlossberg Caves

Scrappy Monday, y'all!  Ryan had a friend over for a while yesterday so while they were playing I got a couple of cards made, so that was nice.  I wouldn't call it a quiet day though because KIDS ; )  And today is the beginning of the last week of the school year here.

Anyway, it's Scrappy Monday, let's see some scrapbook pages!

The hubs found information on this cave system that was not too far from where we lived in Germany, which started out as a quartz mine and is located under the ruins of yet another castle.  For some reason we seem to do a lot of underground tourism everywhere we go.  Ryan's favorite part?  The ice cream he got after we toured the caves.

Today's spelunking color palette is Cinnamon Cider, Daffodil Delight, Merry Merlot, Terracotta Tile, and Very Vanilla.  I took colors from the layers of stone in the caves plus the yellow hats we got to wear (which Ryan quite liked).

Time to get the boy off to school and try to make the most of my time while he's there.  I've got a list of things to do, as ever.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Rough Type, Well-Worn Alphabet, Sculpted Style
Ink:  Cinnamon Cider, Merry Merlot, Terracotta Tile
Paper:  Cinnamon Cider, Merry Merlot, Terracotta Tile, Thick Very Vanilla, Daffodil Afternoon DSP
Accessories:  none

A Blooming Duo

Mornin' y'all!  Hope your weekend is going well.  I got some stitchy time in yesterday so that's always nice.  And for today I have two cards to share:

I used this week's CASE-ing Tuesday sketch:

Here's the pic in the catty that we're CASE-ing:

Since I had two sets of triangles, I made two cards with them.  I also had to try out the Hand Stamped Sentiments color challenge:

I must say, it was a challenge--I felt like I could make the Fresh Freesia work with either of the other two colors but putting them all three together I wasn't so sure about.  In the end I used three different packs of DSP and two different stamp sets.  And I've finally inked up one of my new sets : )  I just got Sweet Blooms last week; I've had Year of Flowers for a bit but haven't used it much yet.

We're going out for breakfast this morning so that's it for me.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Sweet Blooms, Year of Flowers
Ink:  Fresh Freesia, Soft Sea Foam, Summer Splash
Paper:  Fresh Freesia, Soft Sea Foam, Thick Basic White, Floral Impressions DSP, Lovely Garden DSP, Unbounded Beauty DSP
Accessories:  Sweet Blooms dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals, Tinsel Gems

The Hidden Staircase

Okay y'all, I cannot even tell you how much fun I am having with my Nancy Drew challenge.  I just started reading #18 yesterday and I've done cards up through #8 and I am seriously having THE BEST TIME EVER.  I was having a ball just rereading the books, but making the cards for them is even more fun.  Also I have been scouring the Internet looking for some of the later paperbacks in alternate covers and the hubs probably wishes I would stop that but I am filling a few holes in my collection and it makes my little dragon heart so happy : )  : ) 
: )  And also I found like four Nancy Drew groups on Facebook so I think it's safe to call this my new obsession.

So let's get to it, shall we?  This week's book is #2, The Hidden Staircase:

Case file:  Nancy's friend Helen Corning invites her to investigate Twin Elms, the Colonial-era estate of Helen's great-grandmother and great-aunt, because strange things are happening and they think it might be haunted. While Nancy's off snooping around Twin Elms and the neighboring estate, her dad is working on a different case (the type of law that Carson practices seems to change based on the needs of any given book, this case has to do with a railroad company buying properties) and when on his way to visit Nancy he gets kidnapped.  Nancy never stops sleuthing even with her father missing and discovers a whole slew of hidden passageways (and, of course, the titular staircase) connecting the two neighboring estates.  Eventually she figures out that the "ghost" is really a couple of men trying to scare the little old ladies into selling their estate for a low-ball price, and the ringleader is also the guy who's causing trouble in Carson's case who tried to run Carson and Nancy over with a truck and later kidnapped Carson.  No big deal, just actual attempted murder.  Nancy rescues dear old Dad after speaking sternly to the lesser of the bad guys, the little old ladies are happy the ghost is gone, and Nancy's already wishing for her next case.

Notes:  This isn't just a haunted house mystery (which would be fun on its own), it's a haunted mansion!  We have furniture that moves on its own, a chandelier that rocks back and forth, mysterious music coming from empty rooms, and a scary dude in a gorilla mask who makes Helen scream, and that's all before Nancy figures out how to get into the secret passages.  It's kind of fun because there are plausible explanations in the book as to why there would be so many secret passages in a historical context--not sure if that's for realsies, but I hope so because secret passages are just so danged cool.  (I want secret passages in my house, can you tell?)  Nancy and Helen also play dress-up with some old clothes they find in the attic and that sounds like fun to me too.  My copy of The Hidden Staircase is much newer and in better condition than The Secret of the Old Clock, but oddly it has a printing error--about 20 pages from the middle of the book are printed upside down at the very back.  Just a quirk of my collection, I suppose.  Also, the cover of this book seems to be the one that is used for other Nancy Drew paraphernalia; for example, I have a teeny pocket book called the Nancy Drew Guide to Life and it has this same illustration on it.  Five stars.

So here's my card for The Hidden Staircase:

Yes, I own Nancy Drew stamps!!  I found them at a stamp store in Texas probably over 15 years ago and there was no manufacturer's name on them; I think it was just a rubber sheet and I cut them out and mounted them on foam.  An exhaustive five seconds of Googling revealed no information at all regarding a manufacturer (I got no results at all for Nancy Drew rubber stamps) but I just had to break them out for my Hidden Staircase card.

I chose DSP that echoes the colors on the book cover and simply stamped Nancy on the Balmy Blue pattern that matches her outfit (side note: props to Nancy for wearing sensible shoes to go snooping through tunnels, no high heels for her, just sensible pumps).  I happened to use the same DSP stack as last week, but I like it because the subtle patterns really echo the style of the artwork on the book covers.

I'm having a ball doing this and I hope y'all are enjoying it too.  If you'd like to play along, drop me a comment, I'd love to see what you do!  Up next:  The Bungalow Mystery!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Unknown
Ink:  Pebbled Path
Paper:  Balmy Blue, Pebbled Path, Thick Basic White, Splendid Autumn DSP
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals, Dots for Days